Thanks to Hap Chambers for leading eleven bundled and barely recognizable
birders around the Ky Dam/Barkley Dam area yesterday. The only good thing about
the cold was that it made the gulls more active.
I began a little earlier and sat in the car scanning a little longer, but came
up with the following Larid highlights:
Bonaparte's Gull ... 1 VERY brave little guy feeding among the hundreds of
larger birds (including 100+ Herrings) below Ky Dam; also at least a couple
more below Barkley, but the latter birds were feeding out on the fringes of the
group.
Ring-billed Gull ... perhaps a few thousand in the area, but most left int he
morning to go north somewhere on the Ohio River or lower Tennessee River?
Herring Gull ... at least 120-125 below Barkley Dam; *maybe* that many below Ky
Dam; 90 loafing on ice at Calvert City; several at Sledd Creek. Pretty decent
numbers but not a lot of 1st-year birds (poor breeding season or just lingering
farther north)?
Lesser Black-backed Gull ... none gave stunning looks, but one 1st-year below
Ky Dam; a 2nd-year on the ice at Calvert City; and at least 4, maybe 5, at
Sledd Creek (this has probably become the most reliable place in KY to find one
now that the new boat ramp gives decent views of the birds loafing on the far
side); the group there included at least one 1st-year, a 3rd-year, and either 2
or 3 adults, depending on if one out at the mouth of the bay later came in to
loaf with the others.
Thayer's Gull ... we all got nice study of a 1st-year bird on the Barkley Dam
lock; Pam S. should have some decent doc photos; earlier in the morning, I saw
what most might call an adult or near adult Iceland Gull feeding briefly below
Ky Dam, but I would call an intergrade or very light Thayer's. It also appeared
to have a tiny bit of smudging in the tail & wing coverts and may be a
3rd-year/4th-year; at the end of the day, I saw another light 1st-year bird
(likely intergrade to me) below Ky Dam.
Great Black-backed Gull ... late afternoon, I had a 1st-year (or possibly a
2nd-year w/o darkening mantle yet) feeding below Ky Dam.
Poor pics of the Thayer's, slightly better pics of the Great Black-backed, and
several of a 2-3yr transitioning Herring Gull that presents a bit of a
different appearance on my Flickr stream.
Thanks again, Hap.
BPB, Louisville
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